Europe culture news

International magazine centre planned

Director aiming for “world’s best magazine shop”

Work is underway to set up an International Magazine Centre in Scotland, which would give magazine readers, makers and experts access to a wealth of resources gathered from across the globe.

The centre, which is still in the planning phase, is the brainchild of publishing consultant Nikki Simpson. She told Media Voices Podcast she is aiming for a physical centre where people can “worship at the alter of magazine publishing”.

Simpson’s ambition is for the centre to include an exhibition hall, office space for “anybody connected with the magazine publishing industry”, a magazine library and “the world’s best magazine shop” with “every kind of magazine imaginable”. The shop will help people find niche magazines “made for [them] personally” that will make them more likely to subscribe, she suggested.

Links with universities and the National Library of Scotland could facilitate research projects, such as how magazines’ representations of body image have changed throughout the decade. “Really fascinating subjects that society could really learn from,” according to Simpson.

No venue has yet been secured and funding is still being sought, but pop-ups are planned for “Amsterdam, Paris, you name it”. Simpson also hopes that the centre will be able to make many of its resources available online for people around the world who can’t visit in person. A website recently launched, allowing people to keep track of developments.

“This isn’t about what’s happening in Scotland,” Simpson told Media Voices Podcast. “It’s about what you can be part of on a bigger basis.”